Bookmarked Musings: Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water by Ramlal Agarwal

Ramlal Agarwal analyses Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water (Grove Press, 2024) observing how the novel leaves readers with a sense of gloom.

Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water (2024, Grove Press) is a formidable novel. It is 717 pages long and covers 75 years. It is about three generations and people from three countries. It delineates imperceptible changes from the pristine life of early days to superstitions, slavery, the caste system, and social prejudices to modern rebellion and the struggle for independence and equal rights. However, the main focus of the novel is on people and the narratives they inhabit, and the book is full of them.

There is the story of a 40-year-old Philip, the thamb’ran, the Malyali word for the landlord, and his second marriage to a 12-year-old girl, Mariamma; the story of a Scottish doctor from Glasgow and his arrival in India; a tale of a Swedish Dr. Rune and his work in India; the story of Philipose, thumb’ran’s son, and his marriage to Elsie; and the story of Mariamma, the daughter of Philipose and Elsie, named after her grandmother. These stories are interconnected and profoundly impact readers, although Abraham Verghese tries to soften this with his humanity and deep faith in religion.